C1 From the beginnings

Have you heard of them? The gruesome stories about the silent killers in the night, who approach their victims on inaudible steps to taste their blood? Or the beasts, which become giant wolves at full moon and tear whole flocks of sheep in their greed? The knowledge of them is enough for one coin and almost nobody knows where they came from and why they could outlast the times until today. To understand a story, you have to know its origin. Eight hundred B.C. two huge animal figures walked through the forests of the Abnoba mons. One was in the shape of a monstrous, fearsome wolf, the other was in the appearance of a gigantic, mighty bat. Initially still bound to their animal appearance, they were capable of taking on human form. The forefathers of vampires and werewolves were born. Disguised as humans, they could now walk inconspicuously among them. This made them even more dangerous, for mortals had no idea of them. But this security didn’t last too long. Because of their destructive way of hunting, humans came after the creatures. A hunt began on them, they wanted to see these creatures dead. In a dark forest the beasts had been set a trap into which the creatures had stepped unsuspectingly. The bravest men had ridden out to destroy these monsters. And when Yorick, the giant, just reached out for a sword stroke to behead the wolf, the bat threw itself in between. The giant cut off its wings, which fell to the ground with a thundering noise. But the wolf used the opportunity to kill Yorick and the other six men. Seriously injured, they fled to a nearby cave. The bat was close to death, the wolf feared for his friend's life. Then a hooded figure entered the cave; it was a woman. Beautiful to look at, with long brunette hair and jade green eyes.

“Don't kill me“, asked the woman, “I came here in good faith. Your friend, he's badly wounded. I can help him if you want.“

At first, the wolf looked at the woman suspiciously, but what choice did he have? She was there. He couldn't do it alone.

“What do you demand for it?"

“We'll talk about that when the time comes. Do you agree now?"

He gave her his consent. She took herbs from her pocket and handed them to the wolf; he had never seen anything like this before.

“Be so kind and chew up these leaves here.“

More timidly, he finally did as he was told.

“You're doing fine. Take them out of your mouth and spread them on your friend's wounds.“

The woman spread her hands over the bat's injuries and began to speak in a strange language. The herbs on the open spots started to steam. Steam turned into smoke that rose to the ceiling of the cave. Where there had just been two gaping, bloody wounds, you couldn't even see a spot. The wounds had closed, not even a scar was left behind. The bat recovered quickly, then fell into a soft sleep.

“How did you do that?", the wolf asked.

“I'm a witch, and witches understand such things.“

“What's your name?"

“My name is Emily and I've come a long way to see you. You are unique, created by Mother Nature herself and it‘s upon me to protect you from further dangers. You and your friend are careless, you don't know people the way I know them. With my help, you could have it better.“

“Then stay with us, Emily. We will protect you. As a thanks for saving my friend from death.“

“I gladly accept that offer. But allow me to ask for another request for your friend's salvation. Allow me, when the time has come, to bless your descendants, who are yet to be begotten with the gift of immortality.“

“I will grant you this wish, even in the name of the bat. When will this time come?"

“Not by a long shot, my friend. After what has happened, you can no longer enter among men.“

For three hundred years, they kept in secret. The ages changed like day and night, but for the three it seemed to be only a short moment in their lives. The bat lost its ability to fly, but also remained a killing expert on the ground. Through the knowledge of the witch, the creatures now became more vigilant and went silent among humans. Their abilities improved enormously, the procurement of food had become an easy task. No body was ever found, the witch took care of it. When she felt the time had come, the wolf and the bat took two women and filled their bodies with their fruit. This happened in the year one before Christ. With the year zero the women gave birth to two strong boys at the same time, who the witch made immortal thanks to her immeasurable power. At their command, the wolf and the bat killed the women and with the first rays of the morning sun, the ancestors froze to stone and crumbled to dust in the wind. Their time was over, for unlike their descendants they had no immortality. Emily took the children with her. Deeply hidden in the Marcyan Forest, the witch raised the boys. She gave them names, the werewolf was called Kunolf, which means the clan wolf, and the vampire should be called Farold, the widely ruling one. In the care of the witch, they grew up quickly and became the first immortal children of the night.

The world lay at the feet of the now handsome young men. No one else possessed their skills. The talent to run incredibly fast, to hear clearly over long distances, to perceive distant smells and to read, control and even manipulate the thoughts of others. Further centuries passed, which seemed to them only like moments. Although they lived far away from any civilization, this should change soon, because the witch had plans. In 600 A. D. Kunolf and Farold each took a woman as their bride and transformed them with their bite. Fifty years later Leila, Kunolf's wife, gave birth to a boy and Gwendolin, Farold's wife, gave birth to a daughter and three years later to a boy. These were the pure-born. The empire of vampires and werewolves should rise from their bloodline. Farold didn‘t remain idle, he liked the idea, as did Kunolf, of building an entire city that would soon be filled with its own kind. Desirous of quick success, they cast a spell on wandering people before they transformed them. With the help of the newly created vampires and werewolves, Farold built a large castle, whereas Kunolf owned only a small dwelling; he was more down-to-earth. Meanwhile Lucia, Farolds and Gwendolins daughter, had blossomed into a beautiful maiden. With porcelain-like skin, the long hair of ebony colour and her noble blue eyes, she robbed men of their minds. But she lost her heart to a nobleman named Ephraim, a man of tall stature, dark hair and beard, and he lost his to her. Separated by life and death, Lucia finally put an end to it and gave her lover immortality. According to the law, Lucia should one day take over the leadership of the vampires instead of her parents. But because it had never been her wish to lead a horde of vampires and her younger brother had no right to do so, she handed over the responsibility to her husband. Ephraim turned out to be a true master of it. Meanwhile, Stephan, Kunolf's first-born son, declared that he had fallen in love with a community called Esther and would take her as his wife. Michael, Lucia's brother, gave his heart to a noblewoman called Margot. That population of these dark beings grew rapidly, but not all remained in the service of their creators. They renounced their masters, left the country without knowing what was waiting for them beyond the borders. Emily decided to look for more witches and witchers to help the clan grow in size. In addition, she combed extensively the surrounding regions, gathered all the witches and witcher she could find around herself.

“My brothers and sisters, come with me to the vampires and werewolves. A new era has begun. We don't have to hide any longer. The young vampire lord Ephraim will lead this country to the top, I sense. I have known these beings long enough, we have nothing to fear from them. Come and follow me.“

Then the newly formed circle of witches set off for the Black Forest. The birth of the three clans was rung in, who were still at the beginning of their upcoming ascent. Emily felt her secret could no longer rest, the time had come to let it go. And so another extremely powerful sorcerer named Claus joined the circle, whom Emily introduced as her brother. Claus was cunning and manipulative. He quickly fought his way to a high rank among the witches, but never came close to his sister's and only played second fiddle forever.